Attachment Issues



Hoodie and a Fist Bump - Happy and cool...

 I’m logging back into blogger after an almost two month hiatus. While it wasn’t necessarily on purpose, I have published at least one blog entry every month since September 2005. Wll, there was August 2008 that I missed for some reason and June and July of 2009 that got neglected for some other reason. I bet if I looked back on those dates I’d find that I was either too depressed to write or having too much fun to write. The extremes are usually the culprit when my motivation takes a vacation. Either way, somewhere in the back of my head, it’s been my intention to post a blog entry every single month. I never set out to do that. It just became that.  And it stresses me out a little when I don't.


The fact that I know and recognize this fully confirms my Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV diagnosis (300.3) of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Or to put it in spiritual terms – it confirms my attachment issues.

Thanks to the big screen, we’re all familiar with OCD. Think Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall in As Good as it Gets. Hand washing, refusing to use restaurant silverware, not stepping on cracks, and counting the number of times he locked his door. I’ve never watched the television show Monk but apparently that character suffers from OCD as well. You get the picture. All of these “must dos” interfere with one’s ability to focus, to get along in life and to connect with people. We all probably have some sort of routine that we just have to follow…or else…or else it messes us up.

That’s pretty much my view of what attachment issues are – a lesser (or not?) level of OCD. What do we have in our lives and our daily routines, that if it gets interfered with, screws us up, plays with our heads, keeps us in our heads, and makes us anxious or depressed? We all know that nothing stays the same and that we have no control over most things in our life. Becoming attached to things, routines, people, and life in general is normal. Recognizing these attachments, noticing what’s happening in our minds when our attachments get knocked around, acknowledging what’s happening, and letting it move along, is not as easy as it sounds.

So what am I attached to besides writing a blog entry at least once per month?

• Being happy and cool - see above.

• The weather channel – I must know the forecast, especially when I’m vacationing or walking to MARTA.

• My two favorite places to lay down my yoga mat at Yoga Samadhi – it messes me up when I have to practice in a different spot!

• Stephanie’s spot in the yoga studio – it takes me time to get over it when someone else takes her spot!

• Sleep – loving this extra hour this morning!

• Olives and popcorn - enougj said.

• Glenn Campbell’s latest version of Wichita Lineman.

• Religious handouts – see below.

• My hairdresser – see below

• Speaking of Pam, Michigan accents.

• My good health – this getting old thing sucks.

• Pet names that co-workers, friends and family call me - such as sweetie, honey, boo, Carrie O, Care O., little bunny fu fu, and Care Care.

• My pets

• Doc. B.

• Going to yoga everyday

• Being predictable and non-impulsive – thus the reason I’m purposefully skipping yoga today – working on my attachment issues – it’s not going so well. I keep thinking I should be there instead of drinking coffee while sitting on my butt in front of the computer!

Hair Salon "hoodie" and a beer - Happy and cool.